Once Upon a Time GalaCellist Yo-Yo Ma performs Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme" with Music Director Manfred Honeck and the PSO in a gala concert that also includes Dvorak's Carnival Overture and music inspired by fairy tales. Premium tickets include a season-opening soiree at the Fairmont Pittsburgh with PSO musicians. 09/27/2013Time: 7:30 pmHeinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PAwebsite | map

Soldier's HeartBefore heading off to war in Iraq, Casey Johnson neatly organizes her life into a box of lists, envelopes and registration forms for her son's activities. Months later, she returns to Western Pennsylvania forever changed, with deep psychological scars that no amount of arranging seems to be able to fix. Directed by John Amplas for its world premiere, Tammy Ryan's poignant Soldier's Heart shines a light on the struggles facing women warriors.09/27/2013 - 10/13/2013Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue Pittsburgh, PAwebsite | map

Gallery Crawl with The Rubber DuckThis crawl celebrates the opening night of the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts, a project of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. To mark the occasion, The Rubber Duck, the US debut of artist Florentijn Hofman’s four-story-high rubber duck, launches into the Allegheny River, coming to rest by the 6th Street Bridge. The bridge will be closed to traffic to host The Rubber Duck Bridge Party featuring Night Market VI.09/27/2013Time: 5:30 – 10:00 pm

Ahmad JamalNoted for his outstanding technical command and identifiable sound as a piano stylist and composer, Ahmad Jamal needs no introduction in his home city of Pittsburgh. Jamal will present a concert of his latest works and classic tunes. He continues performing around the world, as he has for over four decades.09/27/2013Time: 8:00 pm1815 Metropolitan St, Pittsburgh, PAwebsite | map

Mayhem and MajestyMayhem and Majesty returns home to Pittsburgh, before its 3-week, off-Broadway run this winter. The show has wowed audiences around the country with its daring musical athleticism and visual exploits. Come join the Squonkers in preparing the Mayhem AND the Majesty to deliver to New York City.09/27/2013 - 09/29/201309/27 - 8:00 pm09/28 - 8:00 pm09/28 - 2:00 pm09/29 - 2:00 pm

Granular SynthesisThe Austrian audiovisual media duo of Kurt Hentschlager and Ulf Langheinrich created large scale installations that fuse light and sound into one medium. Through their manipulation of technology, the works of Granular Synthesis serve to challenge human perception, conditioning and consciousness.09/27/2013 - 10/20/2013601 Wood St, Pittsburgh, PAwebsite | map

Carnegie Mellon University Wind EnsembleGeorge Vosburgh, Thomas Thompson, and Stephen Story conduct the Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble in a multitude of pieces including Gordon Jacob's Old Wine in New Bottles, Poulenc's Suite Francaise, Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Holst's English Folk Song Suite, and Strauss' Serenade for 13 Winds. Free admission.09/28/2013Time: 4:00 pm

Compaignie Marie ChouinardMarie Chouinard creates dance conceived from primeval dreams— earthy and strong, yet shaped by irrepressible secrets and unseen dimensions in time. Selected to launch the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts, the program will include Michaux Mouvements, inspired by poetry and drawings by Belgian artist Henri Michaux, and the U.S. premiere of Gymnopedies, set to piano pieces of Eric Satie. In Michaux Mouvements, the dancers form a stunning silhouette to projections exuding a haunting sense that they, in the artist's words, are connected to "the strangeness of natural things and the naturalness of strange things." This performance contains nudity.09/28/2013Time: 8:00 pmByham Theater, 101 6th St., Pittsburgh, PAwebsite | map